


Shipwrecked

by LaLionne (otayuriistheliteralbest)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked, Amputation, M/M, Major Character Injury, Sailors au, shance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 23:12:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12781698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otayuriistheliteralbest/pseuds/LaLionne
Summary: Lance is excited to be sailing on his first voyage with the SS Ophelia Sapphire when a storm hits and he finds himself shipwrecked on an island. The only other person he finds on the beach is Shiro, and he is badly injured.





	Shipwrecked

Lance groaned, rubbing his eyes as the harsh glare of the sun beat down on him, startling him awake. He jerked up, suddenly remembering the storm from the night before.

The man found himself on a beach covered with wreckage from the _S.S. Ophelia Sapphire_. He had been a crew member on the ship, his first voyage out to sea, his heart full of excitement and adventure as they set sail. A few weeks into their voyage, a thunderous storm had come up on them out of nowhere in the middle of the night, tearing her apart. Lance looked around the sandy beach to see if there were anyone else left alive that had washed up on this mystery island.

He moaned, heaving himself off of the sand and spitting out the grit from between his teeth, grimacing. His right leg throbbed and he glanced down at it with one eye closed — as if that could protect him — scrunching up his nose in worry. There was a deep gash across his calf, bleeding into the once-white breeches of his uniform. It looked like glass from a window had sliced into him in the wreck. The sailor quickly tore a strip from his tunic and tied it in a tight, efficient wrap around the wound. It hadn’t festered yet, but he would have to look into it later. First, he needed to assess his situation.

Lance limped along the beach, scanning the ground among the wreckage for anything or anyone that remained. He came across a slightly-bent sword and leaned over carefully to pick it up - he had no weapons, and it was better to have it and not need it than not have it and need to fight for his life.

An hour of wandering and shouting later, he had still found nothing.

“How the heck am I the only one here?” Lance grumbled to himself. He had no water, no food, and felt like he was about ready to pass out. The wound in his leg had bled through the roughly-made bandage he’d wrapped around it and he was worried that it could be getting worse. He plopped down on a large chunk of broken wood that was sticking out of the sand.

Lance heard a groan from below him.

He jumped up and tried to tug on the bit of deck he’d been sitting on, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Hello? Is someone there?” He called out loudly to the ground below the wood.

“I...I’m here,” a voice rumbled from below, coughing painfully.

“Can you help me get this off of you?” Lance asked “It’s stuck and it won’t budge.”

“Can’t... move my arms,” the voice said, stifling a moan of pain.

“Okay, okay. Don’t move.”

Lance rolled up his sleeves and started digging in the sand around the base of the chunk of deck, trying to unearth it enough that he could get it to move. It shifted slightly, and he grasped the edge, shifting his weight to heave the wood up and to the side. He threw the wood to the ground, revealing one of his crew mates and closest friends.

“Shiro!” He cried out. “Thank god you’re alive.”

Shiro was badly injured, worse than Lance. His arm was in ribbons, his hand missing completely, and just looking at it, Lance knew that what remained would have to be amputated. He winced in sympathy and assessed the rest of the man’s injuries. Beyond the arm, there were gashes all over him, but for the most part the rest of his body seemed to be intact.

“How bad is it?” Shiro asked him, looking up at Lance with the knowing look in his eyes that he was going to lose his arm.

“Ah, not so bad,” Lance said, his voice cracking at the end. “You’ll be right as rain in no time at all.”

Shiro smiled through the pain. “No need to lie to me, Lance.”

Lance scrunched up his face for what he was going to need to say next. “I’m going to have to cut away most of your arm, Shiro. I’m... I’m so sorry.”

Shiro just laid his head back on the ground.

“ _Please_ tell me you have some rum.”

Lance laughed, tears making tracks down his dust-covered face.

“Let me look around a little longer. You’re the first thing I’ve found that isn’t wood or sand.”

Lance scavenged in the area surrounding Shiro, but came up empty. He didn’t want to wait any longer, so he screwed up his courage and marched back over to where he’d left Shiro in the sand.

“Sorry, Shiro, there’s nothing,” Lance told him woefully. “We’ll have to do this the hard way.”

Shiro took a deep, pained breath and then nodded at Lance.

“Do it.”

Lance crouched down beside Shiro and carefully grabbed ahold of the mess that used to be his limb, holding back the bile that threatened to come up his throat. He gulped and steeled himself. To Lance’s relief, Shiro passed out in pain the moment he jostled the torn limb.

—

It wasn’t the best job, but given that Lance had never even stitched someone up before, he was squeamishly impressed with himself. He’d removed what remained of his tunic and tore it into strips to create a bandage large enough for the stump where Shiro’s arm used to be. Lance felt a twist in his gut at the thought of Shiro without an arm, but it was too late.

The prone man groaned in pain, slowly coming to. His eyes blinked open and he cried out, glancing down at where his arm used to be.

Lance felt the tears building up again. “I’m so sorry, Shiro. I- I did the best that I could. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve lost an arm. How about you?” Shiro’s voice was dry with his attempt at humor.

Lance laughed wetly. “I found a skin of rum while you were out. It’s not much, but I thought you could use it to numb the pain.”

He held the skin out to Shiro, who accepted it gratefully with his remaining arm, wincing only a little bit in pain. He took a very long swig from the skin and then handed it back to Lance, who took a smaller sip before capping it. He tried to wipe his mouth on his sleeve, forgetting that it was now a bandage. Lance shook out his arm with a grimace.

“Well, now what?” Shiro asked, attempting to sit up. Lance hurried to help him, pulling Shiro up into a sitting position and letting the injured man lean against him. “Thanks, Lance.”

Lance tapped his cheek in thought.

“I haven’t had much luck looking around this island. It doesn’t seem to be very big, but maybe between the two of us, we might find shelter, or if we’re lucky, other crew members. We can’t be the only ones left.”

“Okay, that sounds like a plan,” Shiro said. “Let’s just rest for a little longer, I think I’ll be able to get up soon.”

Lance snorted. “You don’t need to play hero, Shiro. I doubt you’ll be able to move around for a long while.”

“That may be the case, but we need to get moving. And don’t think I haven’t missed your leg injury, you did a horrible job of wrapping it. We can tighten that once we’re ready to get going.”

Lance huffed. “It wasn’t important at the time. I’m sure my leg will be fine.”

“Yeah, ok, Lance. Let’s get some rest,” Shiro told him. “Maybe not in the sun, though? I’m going to be bright as a cooked lobster if we stay here.”

“Right, right...” Lance shifted until he was able to get his arms under Shiro and lifted him up.

“That’s not what I meant—” Shiro started to say.

“Shut up, you can’t walk and I’m able to carry you. Let’s get to some shade.” Lance rebuffed him. Shiro sighed and wrapped his arm around Lance’s shoulder to help support him.

They collapsed in the shade of the trees, still visible from the water should a rescue vessel come for them, but out of the beating sun.

“Thanks, Lance. For everything,” Shiro said, already drifting back off to sleep.

Lance gazed down at Shiro, a mixture of pain and relief in his eyes. “Of course, Shiro. I’d do anything for you.”

Lance ended up curling up on his side, one arm slung over Shiro’s stomach protectively as he fell promptly to sleep. They would figure out how to survive and get back to the mainland once they awoke. For the time being, they rested.


End file.
